cleolinda: (Default)
So... I've been sick and really rundown and occasionally waking up in the middle of a cold-medicine half-dream to realize I'm talking to people who aren't there. I'm doing my best to be coherent and organized about this, but... well.

Read more... )


@moirarogersbree: One easy thing to do from a distance is donate to the AL Food Bank: http://bit.ly/m9JNmb

You can also still text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10.

@rosannecash: This is so easy- Amazon has a 'needs' list for tornado victims; you can buy and they will ship: http://amzn.to/mj6lLI


@SmartBitches: Want to send new bras and underwear down South? Email me for shipping address. Deets: http://is.gd/4Hd4si

@SmartBitches: I have messages about cases of mini shampoo, underwear, coloring books and other needed supplies heading south. SO AWESOME. #wearealabama


I've helped a little with organizing on YA Highway's Help Write Now auction blog; proceeds will benefit all affected areas, not just Alabama. I was looking into getting a fandom auction community set up, but [livejournal.com profile] helpthesouth got going before we could, so you can pitch in over there if you would like. Both YA Highway and Smart Bitches, Trashy Books have been completely awesome in terms of jumping in and trying to get things done, as well as all the writers, editors and agents of all genres who have donated auction items. (So far I've seen critiques, Nooks loaded with e-books, signed books, custom jewelry and at least one knitted pig.) Please let me know if you'd like to donate items--the form is here. And thank you for everything. It means a lot.



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cleolinda: (Default)
[livejournal.com profile] quizzicalsphinx: "Just came out of the hardest-hit area of Tuscaloosa. My neighbourhood is completely not there anymore. This was already one of the poorest areas of town and they are going to need massive help for months, at the very least. I don't know how else to say it. It's just not there anymore."


Gawker: The Terrifying Mile-Wide Tornado That Just 'Obliterated' Tuscaloosa. 

Slate: Tornado outbreak now the worst US natural disaster since Katrina. "The death toll from Wednesday’s storms seems out of a bygone era, before Doppler radar and pinpoint satellite forecasts were around to warn communities of severe weather. Residents were told the tornadoes were coming up to 24 minutes ahead of time, but they were just too wide, too powerful and too locked onto populated areas to avoid a horrifying body count."

Obama on Alabama tornado damage: 'I've never seen devastation like this.' The current headline is, "Twister deaths now at 329, worst since 1932." The last I saw, we're at 238 for Alabama alone, with some 1700 injured, and up to a million without power, although Alabama Power hopes to have that restored to "95% of affected customers who can receive it by end of day on the 4th.".

RT @whitehouse: The President in Alabama: "We're Going to Make Sure that You’re Not Forgotten"  (Photo/transcript)


I kept trying to put together a post of some kind, but I just felt so overwhelmed. I just couldn't sustain a single train of thought very long. Which is stupid, because it passed us by. We're fine. I spent all of Thursday watching disaster coverage on TV (I hate to say it, but: Fox News had the best coverage. They just sat there for hours talking to mayors and running eyewitness videos), and then I couldn't watch anymore.

I've gone through a bewildering number of "how to help" posts, and it's occurring to me that there are two kinds of people who are going to want to help: those of us in town who want to know what we can ransack the house for and where to take it, and those of y'all who, God bless, aren't even anywhere near Alabama and just want to give something. "Text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10" is the quickest suggestion I've seen, and God bless the smartphone age for it.

More )


If there's anything I can add to this, or anything I can do here on LJ, let me know. I haven't heard of any fandom charity efforts yet, but will link to them once I hear.


ETA: Again from quizzicalsphinx: the toughest blog post about the aftermath that I've seen. "No way of getting to them. Nobody coming for them."

ETA: @clex_monkie89: Anyone who wants to help with setting up a help auction comm: http://clex-monkie89.livejournal.com/877988.html




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cleolinda: (Default)
I just realized that, once again, I've been quiet for a few days.

I hope everyone's all right; I've heard from at least one of y'all (on Twitter) who's in Japan. Speaking of which, Maureen Johnson is running another Shelterbox donation drive with plenty of book prizes; it ends tomorrow morning-ish (depending where in the world you are).

This is kind of the wrong time to be all like, "And here are the reasons why I am stressed (they do not include earthquakes, tsunamis, or nuclear reactors)," I guess. But you'll understand where I've been, anyway. Read more... )

I'm still on Twitter RTing links now and then, since that takes all of two seconds and very little contemplation. I'm working on a new Varney recap, maybe a book review post or two--that's what I've been doing, researching and writing--but I may or may not show up again before then. Of course, as sure as I say that I need Quiet Times, I'll be right back here tomorrow. But that's what's going on.



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*flop*

Feb. 15th, 2011 09:58 pm
cleolinda: (pallas cat - blue steel)
Good news: getting a lot of writing done. Bad news: the last slat fell out of my bed late last night and I had to sleep, for inferior values of "sleep," on the couch. Explanation of bad news: I have an old hand-me-down queen-sized bed (it has appeared in Secret Life pictures a couple of times) that I ended up with after my mother and stepfather got married and merged their furniture. It's great and all, but it has only three, loosely-fitting wooden slats beneath the box spring; they tend to shift diagonally over time until one falls out and onto the floor. Well, me being a lazy cuss, I was like, "What? There's some boxes under the bed, it'll hold." Because wrestling with the various slabs of mattress on that bed is a two-person job, and wahhhhh I don't wanna. Well, here we are seven months later: I'm sleeping on two fallen slats, a packing box, four piles of old magazines and a precariously sunken mattress. Because I rock it classy like that. And then the other shoe--or slat, rather--dropped. Which wouldn't even have stopped me except that the bed was severely tilted towards the headboard and shuddered weirdly when I sat on it. So the couch it was.

I did not sleep very well, is what I'm saying.




Which is pretty much what the couch looked like by the time the dogs had finished piling onto me.

Meanwhile, longtime reader [livejournal.com profile] spectralbovine writes,

I'm raising money for 826 Valencia, which provides writing workshops for students from elementary school through high school as well as resources for teachers. They offer one-on-one tutoring for everything from fiction to college application essays. They even publish their work in books, which does wonders for their self-esteem and confidence. They also run the pirate store in the Mission, and I try to support them when I can because I believe in their mission to promote the literary arrrrrrts.

On February 17, 826 Valencia is hosting a Spelling Bee for Cheaters. I am on a fundraising team of LIBRARIANS (Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe), and the more money we raise as a team, the more we can cheat in order to beat such luminaries as Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Chabon and the inimitable Lemony Snicket, not to mention Adam Savage from Mythbusters, John Vanderslice, and Tracy Chapman. Of course, the real reason we're raising money is to benefit the children. Every little bit, from $1 to $100, helps keep these programs free for students. It's a great organization and a fun fundraiser that I think would be relevant to your readership! I'm trying to raise $5,000, and I think I can pull it off with everyone's help. Here's my donation page. Thanks!

While you consider this, I have to go assist my mother. She's now under the bed with a hammer. "Your job," she says, "is to call for help."


ETA WTF:

@cleolinda: I just found a bottle of 1995 cabernet sauvignon under my bed. I HAVE NO IDEA.

There's wine under my bed and you're invited! )




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cleolinda: (Default)
Internets, I have many things to tell you:

"THEY WENT TO THE WAR WITHOUT ME!" New Secret Life of Dolls thataway.

[livejournal.com profile] made_of_fail_pc's new Doctor Who episode is up.

[livejournal.com profile] foresthouse has posted an update on her keratoconus surgeries, and [livejournal.com profile] tinyplasticmeatis now auctioning off knitted goods of your choice (I have to say, the various arm warmers look fantastic). Meanwhile, I will be auctioning off a very cute doll (mint, unopened--no one's getting sold, Eowyn) later next month.

Meanwhile-meanwhile, the Write Christmas "imaginary Christmas movie synopsis" contest that I am judging ends this Friday, I think. Open to everyone everywhere!

More importantly, [livejournal.com profile] smadroniawrites in that "Aaron, a friend of a guy I went to school with, has terminal cancer. He and his wife have been doing a lot of things to help raise funds for their bills and his cancer treatments. As this point, he only has a few months left to live, and his wife ended up turning down a full time job because it would mean 40 hours away from him, now that his life is coming down to months. He's done some interesting things to raise money, he sold ad space on his urns, and done a comedy fund raiser": The first mission is to spread a message of hope )

You can get the Choose Joy bracelets (and t-shirts) or donate money at his blog.


To finish, I would like to bring you pictures of a tiny puppy who got frozen to the train tracks in Bessemer last week when it was 19 degrees and got rescued an hour before the next train came through and a lady adopted him and named him Track and now he is okay, because I think we need puppies right now.





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cleolinda: (Default)
Yet another day where I am exhausted for no good reason (unless it's the It Is Rainy And I Am Solar-Powered thing again), so I will be brief:

1) As appalled as people were yesterday by the FictionAlley Is Totes a Needy Charity, You Guys blowup, there also seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for voting for anything else many of the other charitable causes (you get more than one vote a day) to get the Pepsi Refresh grant. So please consider having a look around. [livejournal.com profile] superri says that she herself is interning for the Fourth Wall Arts Salon, and [livejournal.com profile] abbeykins' brother is involved with Green Futures. Feel free to suggest other worthy candidates in the comments.


2) Solely as a doll enthusiast, I am somewhat disappoint in Barbie Dakota Fanningpire. Needs moar eyeliner (and a smaller body--a Skipper?), certainly.




But what this does suggest to me is that Tonner might also make a Jane as well in the near future, if it's a character Mattel would bother with. Which... I still wouldn't buy. But hey. I like to see how these things turn out nonetheless.

Meanwhile, scroll down for some crazy-ass new (newish, certainly) Barbies they're coming out with. Apparently Cleopatra bore a distinct resemblance to Kim Kardashian, I don't know.

3. Quick movie news: The New Trailer for Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch!; More Black Swan Reviews; Harry Potter Leads to Mass Owl Kidnappings in India; 'Henry5' Makes Shakespeare Sci-Fi -- and Check Out the Cast!; Tom Hardy May Hunt Vampires for Abraham Lincoln; Franklin D. Roosevelt to fight Werewolves OKAY, THAT'S ENOUGH.



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cleolinda: (pallas cat - meep)
I am waiting for a professional do you like me yes/no/maybe check one answer right now, and I am not doing a very good job of not driving my friends and family crazy with my Eeyore stoicism and nervous upset stomach. I have also broken out with strange rosacea-like blargh across my cheeks, because my body likes to think of new and interesting ways to rebel every time I intellectually compartmentalize anxiety and pretend it's not there, but this is still better than that GIGANTIC HEINOUS FEVER BLISTER I got on my lip when Mom went into surgery. (Anxiety I calmly refuse to acknowledge has, over the years, also chosen to express itself as dizzy spells, blood pressure spikes, severe fatigue, nausea, facial blemishes, and, on occasion, boils. I am hoping none of the other plagues of Egypt show up.)

Meanwhile! As I am waiting! We have many things to discuss.

My sister has a new cat, and his name is Jackson. (ETA: My sister does not have a new cat here.) picture )

There is a new Made of Fail episode up.

Also, a Help Pakistan fandom auction (I heard something to the effect that 20% of the country is underwater?).

Mark is now three chapters into Order of the Phoenix.

Stephen Fry is... on his way to Mobile, Alabama? I don't even know.

Entertainment linkspam! Man, it's nice when I can keep reasonably on top of this stuff and not spam you with a Wall o' Text. In which things get scary IRL )



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cleolinda: (Default)
A few things (omg so behind on answering email/comments):

From [livejournal.com profile] mercuryandrain: "I was wondering if you could do me a HUGE favor and plug the Support Stacie auction sometime this week in one of your linkspam posts? Stacie is fighting high stage III breast cancer without the help of health insurance. This coming weekend (April third through sixth) a multi-fandom fanfic auction is taking place - people will bid on their favorite authors, and the highest bidder gets a story tailor-made to their specifications. Over 100 authors are participating at last count, from Roswell, Twilight, Dr. Who, Gilmore Girls and Harry Potter among other fandoms. Her website is http://www.supportstacie.net, and the website where the auction will take place is http://www.majiksfanfic.com/phpbb. There is also an LJ comm dedicated to the cause: [livejournal.com profile] supportstacie."

[livejournal.com profile] countessmary has put up (with my blessing) some "Twilight Means Never Having to Say You're Kidding" t-shirts to raise money for prizes for the YA Lit track at Dragon*Con.

The Littlest Edward is famous! And I mentioned this the other day somewhere--Twitter?--but while we're here: Biker Barbie with pink chaps. Ya rly.

Also, I have to show you this, because it brought light and joy into my life: VAMPIRE CLOAKS FOR DOLLS OMG. THE ALL-BLACK ONE HAS A COLLAR LIKE A BATWING OR A SPIDERWEB OR SOME SHIT, LOOK AT THAT! OMFG A BLACK POET SHIRT, I CAN'T STAND IT. It's like what Bella would make Edward wear if she felt kinky or something.

More on that rock-awesome Joker doll )

More linkspam )

And now, maybe I can get a bit more done before the power goes off tomorrow.


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cleolinda: (Default)
Just a few things, but the Watchmen opening credits are online, and there's also a headline containing the phrase "Gambit UNF UNF UNF." Enjoy.

Linkspam )


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cleolinda: (lolcat)
Please think findy thoughts for a plot-important scarf I KNOW I have but I can't find anywhere. Trust me. You want me to find this scarf.

Sister Girl has acquired herself an LJ to post Comic-Con adventures on when she gets back, so that should be forthcoming.

Meanwhile, my sister's boyfriend is stuck in Atlanta on a three-hour layover. You can drive to Birmingham faster than that.

Meanwhile-meanwhile, I am scared, but I am determined to figure out how to put the book and Not Eowyn on eBay today, because Sunday's a good day for that and it needs to go already.

GO CORALINE GO! (Coraline 2009's first Oscar contender?)

Yes, I did hear about Summit optioning Breaking Dawn. I'll believe it when I see it. Go here if you don't remember why it's so controversial--make sure you read the end of the second installment, if nothing else.

Today's Snack Deathmatch: Sour cream and onion potato chips vs. soft pretzels.

And finally (last is good in terms of people seeing it), from [livejournal.com profile] alexthedevil: "I know a lot of people are going through hard times, but is there any chance you'd be able to pimp the Red Cross bushfire appeal? I'm not sure how widespread the coverage is internationally, but at last count there's 66 dead and 700+ homes destroyed from the fires yesterday."



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cleolinda: (Default)
I forgot to mention this earlier, but since a few people asked--you actually can get the Movies in Fifteen Minutes book in paperback off Amazon UK for a lot less than the hardback, which seems to mostly be in the hands of the Asshat Resellers now (God bless us, every one). What's £5.99 these days--$8.48? And you can get it used for £2.99 (even from a business perspective, I'm more concerned with people reading the book than whatever slim royalties I might lose from secondhand sales). Whereas the hardback now seems to only sell used from £31 and up. So, in conclusion: if you want to get the book cheap, the paperback has a different cover and a slightly different title, but it's the same thing.

Meanwhile, the Awesomeness Initiative is flagging somewhat, mostly because the cold weather is making me sluggish. One of my favorite things to do when it's cold--and the sheer amount of time I spend doing this is a major failing of mine--is curl up on the couch under a pile of blankets while the dogs argue over who gets to lie on my feet. As a means of jumpstarting my lazy ass, I've started asking myself what Barack Obama would do, and then I realized that's not going to work because he would just tell Rahm Emanuel to take care of it while he did something more presidential, like fix the economy with the power of his mind from his Fortress of Solitude. So then I started asking myself what Michelle Obama would do. Put on her Jimmy Choos and kick some ass, that's what Michelle Obama would do. I think this would look very good printed on a rubber bracelet, in fact.

(This is why I will never be a good role model. What would Cleolinda do? Curl up on her couch and... watch shitty movies on cable. POW!)

Linkspam! )


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cleolinda: (key to the kingdom)
More fun in the mail! I don't know who sent me the key pendant, but I LOVE IT.

(I always love things people send in the mail, and thank you so much--I just wanted to make it clear that I don't usually post about things unless I'm trying to figure out who sent it, not because I didn't like it. I just don't want it to turn into, you know, Send Cleo Presents and Buy a Shoutout on Her Journal.)

(Although I do want to mention a glittery Christmas card from Chesh: "Just pretend the snowmen are vampires sparkling in the sunlight. They feed on snowballs.")

Re: Official SKIN OF A KILLER Glitter: Pillowcases? Really? )

Oh, and I wanted to mention/recommend this--every year, I get a Kinuko Craft calendar because I love her artwork. (I have already secured 2009's, because apparently I am doomed to know every single thing I am getting for birthday and Christmas, to the point where my mother and aunt and grandmother sat around in my grandmother's kitchen and sorted out who would give me what when. While I was sitting there in front of them. "Would you rather have Prince Caspian for birthday or Christmas?" "OMG STOP IT!!") So... consider it rec'd.

Also, a link request: A write-in campaign to protest the whitewash casting of 'The Last Airbender.'

More linkspam )



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cleolinda: (serafina)
Oh, wow--someone sent me a book, but I'm not sure who it's from? There wasn't any name or card or information with it. It's something I had really wanted to read for Black Ribbon research, though, so--thank you so much, whoever it's from!

By the way, if you were working the upstairs register at the Brookwood Mall Books-a-Million on Wednesday night, and you sold a copy of Dead Until Dark to two women, the older of which kept saying "SHE WRITES ABOUT THE SHOW" really loudly over and over again, and the younger of which looked like she kind of wanted to die... I need to apologize to you about that.

You really don't need to go announcing that Twilight is terrible )

Also, I feel like I should say a bit more about The Gift of Fear, since several people raised this concern--Read more... )

Linkspam!

[livejournal.com profile] helpvera was a complete success.

Breaking news: Jacob recast leaked? )



ETA: Bettie Page passed away this evening.


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cleolinda: (Default)
Watched the extended Goblet of Fire on ABC Family last night while I was noodling around--come on, how could I resist? Surprisingly, the following paragraph is about Ralph Fiennes )

Meanwhile, I'm going to try to cut down a bit on the amount of linkspam in each entry, if only to give myself a bit of a break. I need one anyway, and it's a tough time of year, etc. I'm probably not going to succeed at cutting back, but I'm going to try.

From [livejournal.com profile] ppyajunebug: "I was wondering if you could maybe put [livejournal.com profile] helpvera in your next linkspam? It goes to a great cause, and the objects in the auction are absolutely amazing, particularly for sci-fi/fantasy fans, or those who love handmade items." In fact, I just saw this headline: Sci-Fi Authors, Fans Rally to Support Struggling Publisher.

More linkspam! )


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cleolinda: (Default)
The tree is up! And Sister Girl and her boyfriend are coming over to help decorate it tonight! Thus, linkspam will be early.

Oh, and I had a request to syndicate my ever-so-scintillating Twitter feed, so... here it is: [livejournal.com profile] cleotwitter. (Deeply fascinating sample Twit: "Aaaaand the new Britney song has eaten my brain. Well, it's not like Twilight left me with all that much of one anyway.")

From [livejournal.com profile] punzerel: "[livejournal.com profile] urbanfictions is pledging to donate 100% of her etsy proceeds in the next week to UNICEF, specifically for emergency relief of the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe. She has some very cool items (check out the doorknob hangers, especially) which would make awesome stocking stuffers or gifts. Would you be willing to post a link in your next linkspam post? Her post here has all the information plus a link to her shop. Thank you!"

Sci-fi’s grand old man Forrest J. Ackerman dies.

More linkspam )


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cleolinda: (Default)
So today it rained not men, but icy slush. I don't think it's going to get quite cold enough this week to snow (and stick), but people are running around screaming and rioting in the grocery stores anyway, which means that I should be fully prepared to see Cloverfield on Friday (huzzah!).

Oh, and I finished Girl Sleuth last night, which was great. I should talk about it--and a ton of other books--more later, but suffice it to say, I want to read both the old-school Nancy Drew pre-rewrite originals and Mildred Wirt's Penny Parker books now.

(Omg roffle.)

Lexicon update: JKR Files Full Request for Injunction of HP Lexicon. The reason might surprise you.

Cassie Edwards update: The Many Faces of Plagiarism, which now include Longfellow. "Hiawatha." Seriously. Also, from [livejournal.com profile] particle_person: "The other ferret researcher (the one who didn't write the Newsweek article) has responded. His take seems to be 'no harm no foul.' Also, apparently this has really helped the black-footed ferrets, particularly Nora Roberts' $5000 matching-grant."

Troubled actor Brad Renfro dies at 25; Brad Renfro, Former Child Movie Actor, Dies at 25 (NYT); Remembering Brad Renfro.

Apple Officially Announces Their Movie Rental Plan; iTunes to offer movie rentals. Read more... )


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cleolinda: (Default)
I showered and laundered today, and then lay down for five hours to recover. Ah, Norovirus. Also, I managed to eat a bowl of tomato soup (garnished liberally with crushed saltines) for dinner last night; for lunch today, I had another bowl and a grilled cheese sandwich (!). Felt a little oogy, and spent most of the afternoon digesting it, but succeeded admirably. Sister Girl had a barbecue sandwich. Sister Girl is a maniac.

(Tonight: a baked potato. "You think you can handle it?" "Let's dare to dream.")

Visit scenic Cleoville! No, seriously, visit it, because visiting it (once a day) makes it"improve." Hey, you visit mine, I'll visit yours (link in comments!). ETA: And now to build industry! Wow, this is involved.

Attention: GreatestJournal is going down.

Via [livejournal.com profile] notsohip: Co-founder of GiveWell, a new charity-evaluating organization, tries to astroturf MetaFilter. Link goes to the otf_w report I wrote up (today's update: co-founder booted).

[livejournal.com profile] biblio_filia and I both want to know, each for our own writing projects: does anyone know of a definitive, or even good, Empress Elisabeth of Austria biography?

From [livejournal.com profile] particle_person (both links): Sony BMG drops music DRM. It is the last major label to do so. Unfortunately, they're still doing it wrong. And the EU didn't get the memo, either.

No one can stop the linkspam )


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cleolinda: (Default)

Lamictal, day... what day are we on now? Eleven? Nothing new to report. Except that I took Lucky outside this morning and it felt like the first real approach of fall--a few degrees cooler, a few dead leaves swirled on the ground.

I spent most of yesterday away from my desk, which means that I have two or three days of linkspam piled up.

The lady appeared after a man-serpent and before a couple of child clog-dancers )



Anna Nicole Welcomes Daughter, Loses Son.

Gulf of Mexico earthquake felt in Southeast US. It was? I must have slept through that. Oops.

JKR correction: "I haven't written 750 pages...I'm not close to finishing."

Paris Hilton pwned at costume birthday party for Richard Branson's son. "Paris had asked if she could come to the Mad Hatter-themed bash dressed as Alice in Wonderland - guaranteeing her a starring role. But when the Virgin tycoon found out, he secretly ordered that all 60 waitresses at the event should also wear Alice costumes - and he rubbed salt into Paris's wounds when she arrived by deliberately mistaking her for one of the serving staff and asking her to serve him a drink." Just to give you a little background info: "Dressed as the Mad Hatter, Sam - one of Britain's most eligible bachelors - welcomed 300 A-list guests. VIPs included Princes William and Harry, Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton, supermodel Kate Moss, Fergie's daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Sir Bob Geldof." This may have made my week.

[livejournal.com profile] entropy_and_me: "I wanted to bring to your attention a cause related to the horrific abuse and murder of domestic animals in one New Orleans Parish following Hurricane Katrina last year."

Sportingbet arrest sparks fears of wider internet gambling crackdown. I find what the executives take for granted to be fascinating: "Sportingbet said Chairman Peter Dicks had been arrested at JFK Airport in New York early on Thursday for alleged violation of Louisiana State laws, mirroring the arrest in July of another CEO on racketeering charges. Another London analyst who declined to be named, said: 'What was he (Dicks) doing? You just don't travel to the U.S. any more if you're in that business.'"

Visit [livejournal.com profile] particle_person's [livejournal.com profile] talesfromthefen, syndicating folklore of the East Anglia region from Tales from the Fens and More Tales from the Fens.

The Movie Spoiler needs spoilers! If you've seen one of the movies they lack, pitch in!

[livejournal.com profile] skyblade: "There's an industry poll going around ranking talent, business sense, and on-set behavior." Read it for the insider dirt. Of which there is lots.

First reactions to Casino Royale are fab. My mother, meanwhile, point-blank refused to watch the new trailer. Apparently Blond!Bond is dead to her.

Sentences you will not often see: "Directed by Finnish filmmaker Renny Harlin, the movie revolves around four studly warlocks at a prep school."

Viral marketing hits YouTube in the form of lonelygirl15 and her professionally-edited "confessions."

Turns out my second cousin is working on The Holiday, which I know principally as "the movie that dared to put Kate Winslet and Jack Black in the same fictional universe."

A revealing interview with the director of This Film Is Not Yet Rated. He reveals why violence gets lighter ratings than sex--and that the MPAA pirated his film.

Speaking of piracy: http://dontdownloadthissong.com.

"Borat" the year's most offensive masterpiece: "This year you are not going to find a more appalling, tasteless, grotesque, politically incorrect or slanderous film than Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. You probably won't laugh as hard all year either. For once it's true: Borat has to be seen to be believed. Like an exploding cesspool at a country club dinner. Or a strip show in a cathedral. You just might want to stay through the credit crawl too: The last shot is as funny as the first one." All I know is, I saw something about Alabama, the Center of the Universe, in the trailer. (That's the "In my country, they would go crazy over you two... but not you" part, roughly paraphrased.)

Apparently seventy tiny video clips at the Lost Experience have been put together to reveal this: What the Numbers mean. In theory, the Lost Experience was a web-only offshoot that you didn't have to participate in to keep watching the show. So I don't know if you'd consider this a spoiler; they may never reveal this on the show, who knows. It starts out slow, with Alvar Hanso himself on the training video this time, and then halfway through it switches to... something else.

For some reason, it was the last panel that made me laugh.



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cleolinda: (reiko2)

Lamictal, day 8: Reading's getting a little easier if I try really hard. As proof:

Do you ever find yourself wondering about really arcane, random things? Like, I was watching the Prestige trailer again. I'd just watched it streaming before, but I downloaded it this time so my mother could see it (I'm going to try to sell her on the new Bond trailer as well; she's still mad that they didn't get Clive Owen. You know, even though she can't remember his name half the time. He used to be "King Arthur," now he's "That Guy from Inside Man"), so I watched it again. And I find myself wondering... where did magicians in that period (the book is set in the late 1870s, I think?) actually perform? Well, I did a little digging, and I found out that they generally performed on the vaudeville circuit in the United States and in music halls/variety theaters in Britain. And then I started wondering... where do the performers live? It's not like a circus, where they're basically carrying their own accomodations with them. Some of them seemed to stay in one place, maybe performing at more than one theater, but probably staying in one city, but that seemed more London-based; American vaudeville (particularly from what I've seen in Gypsy, set some 60-70 years later) seems a lot more nomadic. Did ordinary traveling B- and C-list performers just live at the theater while they were there? In (cheap, I assume) hotels? Was it kind of a pain in the ass to find a place to stay every time you moved on to a new city (which is why I'm wondering if there was some kind of set accomodation)?

The obvious solution would be to read a biography of such a performer--Robert-Houdin turned up as an interesting possibility. Houdini is the obvious choice, of course, although he was more early twentieth-century. What I noticed was, once I'd gotten sucked into a daisy chain of Wikipedia articles, you see several classic magic tricks in the Prestige trailer: the bullet catch, the vanishing cage (you actually see the secret of how that works), the Aquarian Illusion (which I don't think actually existed until recently), a little sleight of hand in passing, and the big trick that's Real Magic Zomg looks like a dressed-up version of your basic teleportation.

(What? Two movies about magicians this year, and you thought I wasn't going to get sucked into the history of stage magic?)

Speaking of Bond a long, long time ago up there, if you liked the trailer: updated Casino Royale gallery. Also at the trailer link: a download of the Catch a Fire trailer I mentioned the other week.

(I'm going to stake my money on it right now: somewhere, somehow, someone will not like the Bond movie, and they will write a negative review, and it will be titled "Royale with Cheese.")

Still Life Takes Top Honor at Venice. More importantly (for our purposes), Helen Mirren and Ben Affleck take top acting awards. Start your Oscar betting... now.

Ledger on the Joker: I Wouldn't Have Thought of Me Either. Heh.

Rumor: JKR Says Book Seven "up to about 750 pages." Sweet fancy Moses. I'll remember to rent a handcart when I go buy the book.

First Glimpse of Kingsley Shacklebolt and More in New King's Cross Report.

Models Flunk BMI, Get Spain Fashion Boot. That's right, bitches. You gotta have something to work.

Jilted bride turns wedding into benefit. No, not for herself, either.

In other news, I just realized that Marie Antoinette and The Prestige come out on the same weekend in October, and I am feeling something like panic--moviegoer's panic? Maybe we could swing another double feature, but I don't know...



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cleolinda: (black ribbon)

Lamictal, Day 7: It's weird--I don't feel like I'm "on drugs" at all, which is a sign that it's a good fit, but at the same time, I could definitely feel an effect earlier in the week that's fading now. So I have another week on 25 mg before we go up to 50 mg, at which point I'll probably feel it again. In the meantime, though, I keep forgetting that we didn't just add a medication--we also cut my Wellbutrin in half, which I finally realized explains why I can't concentrate at all. I mean, I can, but for someone who's used to marathon reading sessions, it's disconcerting to have difficulty staying on task with a simple Wikipedia article. I have more success if I curl up with a book, but reading news or articles on the computer is a lot harder at the moment. And all of this is because I was put on Wellbutrin because it's an antidepressant, yes, and because it affects a brain chemical (I forget which one) that Zoloft doesn't, but mostly to treat attention problems, since Adderall wasn't working (or rather, it was a blunter instrument than I needed).

(Which deserves a sidenote unto itself: I was the last person, literally the last person in the world, ever, that you would have suspected of being ADD, if your idea of ADD was "hyperactive." I was hypoactive. I spent my entire childhood in a book. It turns out, however, that a lot of girls manifest attention disorders as being very dreamy--not being hyper, per se. I rarely paid attention in class; I was usually writing, in a notebook half-hidden in my lap, or under the cover of taking "notes," but there were a lot of classes where I was listening to the lecture with one ear and composing bad poetry with the other. If that makes any sense, which it... kind of doesn't. Anyway. A class like government/econ [which was taught by two football coaches anyway], I could swing it. A class like math, well... I failed a semester exam one time, let's just put it that way.)

Suddenly my habit of parenthetical digressions makes a lot more sense, doesn't it?

Linky-link:

Armitage says he was source in CIA leak.

Ellen DeGeneres Tapped to Host Oscars.

A sneak peek of "Simpsons" online Friday.

Jackie Chan wants to be respected like De Niro.

Panda accidentally crushes cub in China.

[livejournal.com profile] stardustshine: "I'd like to ask you to post a link to petfinder so that we can Help Petie. I came across his story the other day at yorkierescueme.com and it just broke my heart. The rescue is trying to raise money by the end of October to give him surgery to fix a bone deformity. Of course there is not an animal rescue in the country that does not need need donations of time and money, so even if your readers can't donate at this time, I hope everyone will keep in mind that there are hundreds of hard cases like Petie that need support any time you can give it."

Poor Dooce: "The only way I can possibly begin to describe this man and his office is to compare it to a graphic science fiction/horror comic book, it was that unsettling. He began by telling me that the incision that my doctor had made on my arm could have made the problem much worse, because by cutting into the cancer like she did she could have deposited diseased cells into the deeper layers of skin. When I reminded him that he was the one who had told her to just go ahead and cut it out herself, he said, 'Really? That was pretty stupid of me, wasn’t it?' EXCUSE ME FOR A MOMENT WHILE I PICK OUT AN EXPENSIVE FABRIC FOR MY CASKET."

Wandering around Flickr last night, I ended up at Madame Talbot's (she has an account.) Fantastic. I want the vampire poster so bad. Not only that, but Madame Talbot's links page is outstanding. On that page alone, I found headless historical dolls (actually, they do come with heads; the heads just aren't... attached); "Chateau Bizarre, Small Business at Its Strangest," or, "Weird Shit You Might Enjoy Buying" (and how!); Art of Adornment; Prodigies: Drawings of Anomalous Humans; old and rare books from A Grave Affair; and the cutest Edward Gorey necklace ever. Not to mention this fantastic blog. Which is why I haven't elaborated much on the primary linkspam, because I'm off reading deathndementia.com (see title of entry).

I think I need to come to grips with the fact that autumn really is my favorite season of the year. I thought it was late spring, with the cool weather and the pretty, pretty flowers, but I was so very, very wrong.



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